GlaxoSmithKline sidesteps NICE by negotiating with individual hospitals

doi:10.1136/bmj.b4406

Published 26 October 2009, doi:10.1136/bmj.b4406
Cite this as: BMJ 2009;339:b4406

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GlaxoSmithKline sidesteps NICE by negotiating with individual hospitals

Andrew Jack

¹ Financial Times

The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below.

Women seeking a new treatment for breast cancer will not havean equal chance of receiving it, after the government’sdrugs advisory body refused reimbursement for lapatinib (Tyverb).Patients will be subject to the decisions of their local hospitalor forced to pay out of their own pocket.

In a final appeal last Wednesday, the National Institute forHealth and Clinical Excellence (NICE) ruled that GlaxoSmithKline’sdrug, which targets women with the Her2 gene mutation who failwith trastuzumab (Herceptin), was not cost effective.

The decision came after GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) attempted to reducethe price of the oral drug, estimated at an average annual equivalentof more than £25 000 ( ${euro}$ 27 000; $41 000) per patient. Thecompany suggested a "risk sharing" scheme, in which it wouldcharge the NHS only for those patients in which the drug wasworking, after the 12 treatment week period for which it . . . [Full text of this article]